Indecision
by Chris4
Summary: Logan's thoughts about what to do about Cale Industries' involvement in hoverdrone production. Set during 'Camera' **Spoilers (kinda) ***


Logan stared out the window onto the rain-filled Seattle night

Disclaimer: Dark Angel belongs to Jim and Chick.I wish it were mine, but…

Author: cjudkins@smith-gardner.com

Summary: Logan's thoughts after his discussion with Max about Cale Industries.Contains spoilers (kinda) for Camera.

A/N: This is just fluff that popped into my mind when I saw this ep.Nothing drastic; just one person's perception.Please R/R.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Logan stared out the window onto the rain-filled Seattle night.He heard Max enter the apartment and begin to make her way towards him, but he didn't turn to greet her as he would have in the past.She seemed to sense his mood as she quietly approached him.

"Heard about your uncle Jonas," she said into the silence.

"Multiple gun shot wounds to the chest.No leads, no witnesses.Sound familiar?"

"Same guys who put a hit on you," she responded, tapping the wheel of his chair with one toe.

"My uncle's partners," Logan confirmed.

"Go figure."

"He swore he didn't know what was going on.Lied right to my face.Didn't even blink."Logan bit down on the anger and pain that threatened to overwhelm him; that someone in his own family, however distant, would treat him so callously.

"He paid the price," Max said softly.

"But his cronies skate off this unless Eyes Only tells the whole story," Logan replied.

"You know what'll happen if you do that."

"Government steps in.Everybody acts all shocked.And they seize the assets of Cale Industries in a show of civic outrage.Confiscate the company.The trust." Logan stated evenly, as if he were talking about somebody else entirely.

"And your net worth along with it."He could tell that Max was starting to get upset with him.

"I own my apartment.Have some art I can sell.I'll be all right.Cale Industries will be out of the murder business for good."

"So, your idea of going to war is taking a vow of poverty?" She asked sarcastically."That'll show 'em, Logan."

"This lifestyle of mine, Max …" he paused, as if trying to find a way to verbalize the revelation that was dropped into his lap the minute he saw the hoverdrone outside of his passenger window."… is bought and paid for with money made helping keep people under police surveillance.It took a lot of people dying for me to finally face the fact that … I've been living a lie," he finished softly.

"What about all the good things you've accomplished with Eyes Only?" she pleaded."How ya going to keep that afloat when you're broke?"

It was a question he had been pondering for most of the night, along with a thousand others.It was a question that he didn't really have an answer to.Not yet, at least.He smiled slightly to himself.Trust Max to come straight to the point.How was he going to keep Eyes Only going without his wealth to back him up?

"Somehow," he replied.

"You know, only a bored rich liberal white guy would piss away a fortune to prove he wasn't a bored rich liberal white guy.No body would think any less of you if you decided to let this one slide," Max stated.She was definitely upset with him.So what else was new."I would invite you not to be a dope."

The conversation ran through his mind over and over again._Am I being a dope?Am I cutting off my nose to spite my face, to use the old cliché? _He wondered._What was the purpose of Eyes Only, anyway?To bring down those that would abuse the power they were given to them by the people.To give the people the knowledge that the injustices that they suffered would not go unpunished.To protect the downtrodden, blah, blah, woof, woof._

The trouble was, it cost money to do all these things.Now, when he needed to buy off an informant or purchase a new piece of equipment or get someone out of town in a hurry, his money was readily available to fulfill his needs.If he turned in Cale Industries, it would be just as he told Max.The government would seize the company's assets and take over the company.Maybe, just maybe, he could call in a couple of favors and lessen the blow, but in the end, he would wake up tomorrow without his fortune to fall back on.

_Is this the right thing to do?If I were to look at it objectively, it is.Eyes Only's mission is to protect the people.There isn't any room for personal feelings.Jonas Cale and his partners were involved in a plot to build killing machines, and several people died as a result.If another person were Eyes Only, that person wouldn't have any qualms about bringing down Cale Industries,_ he reasoned with himself.

Which led to another question._How many men, like me, went to bed one night, only to wake up the next morning to find out that Eyes Only had ruined his life because of something done by someone in their family?_Logan closed his eyes and rubbed his throbbing temples._When did Eyes Only become so complicated? _he wondered._Do I turn in the directors of Cale Industries as murderers and destroy my main source of income, or do I live with the knowledge that I'm living on blood money and use that blood money to destroy others?_Logan sighed deeply and stared out into the night, looking for answers that were not forthcoming….

"Do Not Attempt to Adjust Your Set….."


End file.
